Everything
by Naki
Summary: Code 31 - A homicide on a busy intersection in Downtown Miami. Evidence of another murder surfaces, seemingly tying the two together. Is this simply a coincidence, or is a serial murderer looking for another victim?
1. 101 Code 31

**Everything**  
Episode 1 - _Rising Sun_  
1.01 - Code 31

Written by: Naki

Miami. A city of eternal summer. The sun beat down on pedestrians as they traversed the city; they hurried along the timed crosswalks, swerved around other pedestrians, and avoided couriers on bicycles.

It was then a young woman of Asian descent approached an intersection, leading a young man and two children, also of the same influence, to the crosswalk. She wore a loose fitting red blouse and black slacks; the young man dressed in a white T-Shirt with the Nike _Swoosh_ emblazoned upon it and a pair of faded blue jeans. The two girls, their ages separated by a few years, wore similar pink outfits. The young woman spoke rapidly to her charges in a foreign tongue that earned her looks in passing.

As the crosswalk light turned green she took hold of the youngest girl's hand and hurried across, while the young man followed at a distance, held back by the crowd. He kept bobbing his head from side to side, frantically trying to keep an eye on the woman as she walked faster.

He lost sigh tof her when an older Caucasian man, wearing a dark polo shirt, sunglasses, and having a slightly balding head of dark hair, stepped in front of him and bullied his way forward. The young man caught sight of the man's hands. He wore black leather gloves. Gloves? In Miami? Or Florida at all for that matter? A dark feeling grew in his stomach as he gripped the other little girl's hand tighter and pushed through the crowd.

"Sa...Sachi!" He yelled. The man with the gloves raised his righ thand and in it was clasped a pistol. "Sachi!"

The shattering sound of a gunshot reverberated about the intersection, causing everyone to drop or scatter. The man dropped his arm, turned enough to look sideways at the young man. His unforgiving shaded eyes spoke volumes and he wordlessly walked to a small red hatchback that sat running down the street.

In shock, the young man turned. The young woman was lying in a pool of blood that was spreading by the second. The little girl who had been holding the woman's hand sat in the blood, crying.

"Sachi!" His voice seemed to echo...

Sirens blazed as fierce as the sun on the intersection in downtown Miami. The wind buffeted the yellow crime scene tape that surrounded the crime scene. The victim lay sprawled on her stomach, her sightless eyes staring hauntingly into eternity. A single shell casing lay near her, gleaming in the stark sunlight.

Lieutenant Horatio Caine stood just inside the tape, sunglasses on, hands on hips; his posture was that of a man on a mission. And his mission was to catch whoever committed the crime that lay before him. He heard sharp footsteps on pavement and the familiar sound of plastic being pulled taut, indicating Detective Frank Tripp had just entered the crime scene. He stepped even with Horatio.

"And in broad daylight," Horatio commented, unprompted by the detective.

"Young woman like this murdered in a crowd of people," Detective Tripp started.

"And nobody saw a thing," Horatio finished.

"Well, not everybody," Tripp motioned to his right. Horatio turned his head and followed the direction of Tripp's arm with his eyes. An ambulance sat just outside the perimeter, lights flashing but no siren. Two paramedics were checking over a little girl, possibly three years of age, and had just removed her bloody clothing. They wrapped her in a pale blue blanket.

CSI Eric Delko collected the clothing from the paramedics and placed the clothes in a large, brown paper evidence bag.

Sitting on the back of the ambulance was a young man who, resembling the deceased, was obviously a teenager. He held the hand of another little girl who was either six or seven years old.

"They were the only three found at the scene when patrol arrive," Tripp continued. "If they speak any English, shock must've made them forget."

"It's hard to tell from this distance, but what language?" Horatio asked.

"Uh, personally, I'm not sure," Tripp answered. "The boy seems to understand us, but the little ones don't."

"That's because they're scared," Horatio said matter-of-factly. "Excuse me," he left Tripp standing inside the tape and walked over to the ambulance. Horatio hated it when children were involved. It happened, yes, it happened all the time, but what frustrated him most was that he couldn't stop it. So he was hell-bent on taking away what frightened them and make them feel safe. Only this time there was a language barrier between them.

"Hi," Horatio said in a soft voice. He took off his sunglasses and smiled at the youngest girl.

She looked up at him, distrusting the tall stranger that loomed over her. She snuggled closer to the young man who held her on his lap. Horatio, a man with the patience of Job, switched tactics. He looked to the young man.

"My name is Horatio Caine," he pointed to his chest.

The young man looked a bit alarmed and something of recognition registered in his eyes. He seemed ready to speak, but thought better of it. Something about Horatio rang a bell with him.

Horatio backed off a step and put his hands on his hips. Well, it was a start.

The other girl, sitting next to the boy, leaned over to him and spoke rapidly in a lilting, musical tongue.

The young man looked from the girl to Horatio and spoke in a low tone. "Sakamoto Hideki."

Horatio smiled a bit. "It's nice to meet you, Sakamoto-san." He couldn't speak their language, but he did know a little about their customs.

Hideki spoke again in the low tone. "Hajime mashita, Caine-san."

Detective Tripp came up behind Horatio. "So...what's the diagnosis?"

Horatio turned. "They speak Japanese."

"Can you?" Came Tripp's doubtful inquiry.

"Not hardly," Horatio replied. "But, I do know someone who can." _Frankly, I'd be surprised if she's have anything to do with me._ He dismissed the thought. "Do we have a translator with the department?"

Tripp gave it some thought. "Not that I know of. I can drop a line to neighboring precincts."

"Good. Do that."

Just minutes later, Medical Examiner Alexx Woods arrived on the scene. Horatio held the tape up so she could duck effortlessly under it. She stood over the body, assessed it, then crouched down and slipped on gloves. She looked up at Horatio, who now stood next to her, "In broad daylight, Horatio?"

He allowed himself a small smile; the type he reserved for those closest to him. He crouched down as well, opposite Alexx. "That's what I said." He looked down at the body.

Alexx peered at the victim as well. "Beautiful lady," she cooed to her, "did you feel safe in a crowd of strangers?"

"Ask her," Horatio said, "if she knows who killed her."

Alexx smiled at him. She knew full well that it would take more than that to determine the suspect. He was teasing her in his own subtle way. Her hand drifted to the victim's long black hair. "Not all of us have eyes on the backs of our heads, Horatio." She parted the hair with her fingers, revealing a gunshot entrance wound in the back of the skull. "It would've taken an act of God for her to have survived this. But, I'll know more after the post."

"As usual," Horatio commented. They exchanged smiles again.

As the body was removed from the crime scene, and loaded into an awaiting ambulance, Eric approached Horatio.

"Hey, H, just wondering...what about them?" He motioned over his shoulder to the three witnesses who, now that the ambulance had departed, were standing next to a patrol car. Hideki, the young man, carried the toddler with one arm, and held onto the hand of the older little girl.

"I'll take them back to the lab with me. You just keep up with evidence collection. Calleigh should be here any minute to help."

"Right-o, H."

-- -- --

CSI Calleigh Duquesne walked towards the crime scene, her kit in hand, eyeing the yellow tape with a certain curiosity that came with every crime scene. She approached the CSI Hummer just as Horatio opened the driver's side door to get in. He turned at her soft "hello."

"Good morning," Horatio responded. Calleigh smiled at him.

"May I ask?" She looked to the three timid beings in the backseat of the Hummer.

"Witness to the homicide," he answered. "They don't seem to speak any English, so Tripp is looking for a translator."

"Just curious," she responded to the unasked question in his eyes. She watched the ambulance pull away with the victim. "So...gunshot victim?"

Horatio nodded.

"I just figured, victim killed while crossing the street either involved a vehicle or a bullet," Calleigh said, turning her head back to Horatio. "Heard it from dispatch. So...where are my shell casings?"

On the ball, as always. "There's only one. Eric has it. Alexx will have your bullet as soon as she can get it."

"As usual. See you later." She turned away from him and headed towards Eric, who stood on the far side of the taped off crime scene. She waved casually at him.

Horatio climbed into the Hummer and started it up. He glanced in the rear view mirror at his passengers. For some reason, he had an uneasy feeling about this case. As he reached over his shoulder, took hold of his seat belt and slid it across his torso to click into the buckle, he fought a rising sensation of anxiety in his stomach.


	2. 102 Chain of Custody

**Everything**  
Episode 1 - _Rising Sun_  
1.02 - Chain of Custody

Written by: Naki

After returning to the Crime Lab and seating the witnesses on a cushioned bench near the front desk, Horatio left to find Detective Tripp. He found him at the detective's desk, on the phone. Tripp looked up at him, motioned to him with a hand, and wrapped up the conversation.

"Okay, okay, so you'll be here..." he checked his watch, "in about an hour? Okay. See you then."

"And that would be...?" Horatio asked as Tripp placed the phone receiver on its cradle.

"Our translator. Right next door, too. Broward County Crime Lab. She's not on record as a translator. She's a CSI. Kinda like Delko, only with Japanese."

Horatio nodded. "Did she ask about the case?"

Tripp loked at Horatio like he'd lost his mind. "Yeah. Why not? CSIs' prerogative, right?" His expression became neutral once more. "I told her the basics, or at least what I know right now, including the name of the victim, and she sounded...wounded in a way. Said there was an active case from last month she was working that might be related."

"Related how?" Horatio asked, intrigued.

"She said that our victim, Sakamoto Sachi, was more than likely the sister to her victim, Sakamoto Naoko. Then, she asked about the children." Tripp continued, occasionally glancing at his notes. "I told her they seemed scared, but otherwise unharmed."

"Hmm." Horatio checked his watch, running through what needed to be done. Eric would more than likely be in Trace, processing the clothing of the victim and the toddler, before sending it to DNA. Calleigh...would be, of course, in Ballistics comparing the shell casing against possible matches and later the bullet. Considering they didn't yet have a murder weapon, NIBIN would be the next best choice. "Broward County. Taking into account midmorning traffic, an hour should be more than enough. Regardless, we have an hour to kill."

"Bang, bang," Tripp muttered.

The hour passed by like a breeze, quick and sudden. It was when another half hour slipped past, that Horatio found himself waiting at the front desk, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. He stared at the closed elevator doors; for the past fifteen minutes he hadn't had anything to do. For a CSI, that's either a bad thing or a grace. At the present moment, though, Horatio considered it a standstill. While the evidence was writing a novel, the witness' statements could lead them closer to suspects, and quiet possibly, the killer. This is speaking for experience, of course.

"Lieutenant, do you need anything?"

Horatio looked over his shoulder at the uniformed woman sitting at the front desk. He smiled a bit. "No, thank you. I'm just waiting for someone." He turned back tot he elevator doors. _Someone who is half an hour late._ He caught himself feeding a tiny sense of impatience nagging at the back of his mind. She'll get here when she gets here.

He jumped a bit as the elevator dinged and its door slid apart; Detective Tripp stepped out. A lab tech stepped out behind him and continued down further into the lab.

"Not here yet?" He asked. Horatio shook his head. Tripp ran his hand over her balding head, smoothing out his hair. "Well, there could have been an accident on the interstate, she got held up by work..."

"She'll get here when she gets here," Horatio said with a smirk.

"Horatio." Calleigh's musical voice called out. He turned his head.

"Yes?"

Calleigh walked up, having just come from the Ballistics Lab. She was smiling. "That shell casing...I got a hit on NIBIN." She looked as excited as she sounded.

"_Really._" She had his full attention now. This didn't happen everyday.

She handed him a printout. "The shell casing discovered at our crime scene matches the one recovered from a homicide early last month in Fort Lauderdale. The firing pin markings are identical."

"Imagine that." A humored Horatio looked to Tripp, who raised an eyebrow.

"Well," the detective said, "at least we know that she wasn't leading us astray."

Horatio swiveled his head back to Calleigh as she asked, "Who?"

"Our translator hails from Broward County Crime Lab. According to Frank, she was hinting about a possible related case to our homicide. Quite possibly the case that matching shell casing belongs to."

Calleigh's happy look became one of anticiptation. "She brings me a matching bullet and shell casing and I'll be her new best friend."

"Wow." A voice came from nowhere. They had, as it seemed, not heard the elevator ding. "It seems they're already rolling out the welcome mat for you." All eyes turned towards the elevator. Standing across from them was a tall young man with short dark hair dressed in a patrol officer's uniform and carried a standard brown evidence box sealed with red tape by the handles. Next to him stood a young woman of about five feet in height and had long red hair. Her amused expression was turned upwards to her companion.

"Yeah," she agreed," and as payment, all I need is correlating evidence. Nice to know I have all that up front. Hey, she looked to Horatio and smiled a bit. She extended her hand. "Lieutenant Caine."

Horatio shook hands with her and then backed off a step as Tripp stepped forward.

"You must be Anna," he said, shaking hands with her. "Detective Tripp."

"I recognize your voice," the redhead replied. She then looked to Calleigh.

More handshaking. "I'm Calleigh Duquesne. Firearms."

Anna cocked her head to the side slightly. "Duquesne. I've heard the name before. A defense attorney, I believe."

Calleigh smiled. "That would be my dad. He did a few cases up in Broward County a while back. He doesn't practice as much as he used to anymore."

Anna smiled back. "Then we're in the same boat."

Calleigh gave her a quizzical look. "Pardon?"

"Daughters of lawyers." Then, after Calleigh's laugh in response, "My mom's a prosecutor."

Detective Tripp cleared his throat. "Ladies, if you don't mind, we have work to do."

Anna's eyes tightened. "I know." She gave the reception area a quick glance over. "Where are they?"

Horatio turned and motioned with his hand around the front desk. "This way." He led her around the desk to the line of cushioned benches facing the massive wall of frosted windows. From behind him, in clear Japanese, Horatio heard, "Aiko-chan! Kyoko-chan!" This was followed by a longer sentence that he couldn't understand.

Rounding the corner he was met by the excited faces of the girls that soon melted into expressions that seemed to say, "_Hey, that didn't sound like you_!"

Hideki's quiet tone reprimanded the girls. They turned and went back to him.

Anna came around from behind Horatio with a smile on her face. "Konnichiwa, minna," she said brightly.

Hideki stood. "Anna-san." The girls, squealing with excitement, ran to her. Anna knelt down and scooped the youngest up into her arms and bounced the girl slightly on her hip. The second girl took hold of Anna's left hand and pulled on it. The redhead allowed the girl to lead her to the cushioned bench onto which she sat. Both girls began to talk at once, both in rapid Japanese. To Horatio, it sounded like chattered gibberish, but Anna seemed to be taking it all in, calmly answering each in turn. He watched them intently, hands on hips, a small smile on his face. 

He must have been in his own world, because he hadn't heard Detective Yelina Salas come up behind him. "Horatio," she called, coming from behind to face him. Anna looked up, having turned her attention from the hyper girls to the new presence.

Horatio started and turned his face to her. "Yes?"

Yelina gave him a knowing smile. She motioned to a young man in a patrol officer's uniform carrying the standard brown evidence box. "This is Paul Hannover from state patrol. He accompanied your translator here from Fort Lauderdale."

Eyeing the shiny red tape marked _Evidence_ Horatio greeted the young man. "Hello."

Officer Hannover gently laid the evidence box on the end of the cushioned bench and extended his right hand, which Horatio took within his own. "Nice to meet you, Lieutenant."

The eldest girl looked from Anna to the brown box and blurted something in an inquisitive tone.

Yelina raised an eyebrow. "What did she say?"

"Uh... 'What's in the box?'" Officer Hannover answered. "I believe so, at least."

"Yeah, you're right," Anna stood and sat the small girl on the bench. "You're learning well, Paul. You took your time, though. I thought a few weeks around me would've been sufficient, but eighteen years?" She shook her head.

"Hey, cut me some slack," he said. "I've been learning through osmosis."

Anna laughed and shook her head; she caught a look Horatio threw her way and answered, "Paul and I have known each other since grade school. First grade, to be exact." She gave Yelina a polite smile.

Officer Hannover walked past Anna, intentionally running into her. She smacked his arm, saying, "Oh, grow up."

Hannover, however, ignored her. Instead he gave his attention to the girls. "Hey, kiddies!"

"We're, uh, ready to start the interview when you are," Horatio said to Anna.

Her expression grew inquisitive. "Part of me is wondering why I was called here. I mean, Hideki speaks very good English..."

"Really?" Horatio asked. And then, it began to dawn on the shorter redhead. Her face contorted in aggravation, and she turned on her heel.

"Sakamoto Hideki!" She snapped. The young man jumped up and seemed to attempt to hide behind Officer Hannover. She reprimanded him harshly, speaking this time in English. "You speak better English than most people your age, and you act like you can't. Why?"

Hideki slowly came from behind Officer Hannover. "I don't trust him..." His English, as good as it sounded, was marred by his accent.

"Don't trust him?" Anna repeated, her tone slightly incredulous. "He's a police lieutenant!"

"I know that!" He countered. "But I also know how _your_ lieutenant is!"

Anna quieted and didn't have an answer to that. Horatio noted this. In a small voice, "You can trust Lieutenant Caine. Answer any questions he has. Hideki-kun, your sister's justice depends on it, okay? I won't be taking part in your interview."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, they don't need a translator. I'd just be an extra body taking up space. But..." she looked to the girls. They were playing tug-of-war with Officer Hannover's handcuffs. "They don't understand what's going on, do they?" Her soft tone was somber.

Hideki shook his head.

"I didn't think so. I'll be with them until the end of your interview. Then I suppose I'll either translate for the girls or be given permission to introduce my evidence to the CSIs here. I have to be present at all times my evidence is being handled by an investigator other than myself because it's my case."

"Sounds so complicated," Hideki commented. "Sounds like you don't trust anyone here, either."

"It's not that," Anna shook her head. "I have faith in other CSIs, especially the ones here. It's what they call the 'Chain of Custody.' Simply put, it is a set of strict protocols that investigators must follow to ensure that evidence does not become contaminated or lost, and ruled inadmissible in court."

Hideki nodded.

"You're just pretending to understand that."

Another nod and a laugh this time.

After about twenty minutes of interviewing the witness, including possible motives and suspects, Hidekis last comment left Horatio thinking.

"Just ask Anna-san. She knows him."

Minutes later Horatio was walking down the hall from his office, where the interview was held. He was deep in thought, thinking about what the witness had said. If he had said, "She knows who he is," it would've implied knowledge of a suspect in her homicide, but he had said, "She knows him," implying that she had a personal familiarity with the suspect. A thought nagged at the back of his mind, a worry that this could possibly be a conflict of interest situation, which could put both cases in jeopardy.


End file.
